By Mark Wineka

Salisbury Post

Salisbury City Council approved a rezoning Tuesday that could lead to the construction of mini-warehouses off Bringle Ferry Road near Interstate 85.

The special zoning for a portion of Kevin Wilson’s property will permit “mini warehousing storage” and all uses allowed in a regular office-institutional district.

Council also required that any signs conform to office-institutional requirements and that Wilson provide an 8-foot strip of landscaping along the property’s I-85 side and a 10-foot strip along the Bringle Ferry Road end.

Wilson originally had asked that uses for the property also include “auto sales and storage,” but council rejected that option.

Wilson told council members Tuesday he could live with their adjustments. He owns five different parcels on the south side of Bringle Ferry Road near the interstate. The parcels encompass just more than 3 acres.

The previous zoning had been a combination of duplex residential and office-institutional.

With the new zoning, council used Duke Energy transmission lines as a separation point. Wilson’s property under and to the west of the transmission lines is now zoned multi-family residential.

Wilson’s property to the east of the transmission lines has the special general business zoning that will allow mini-warehouses.

The final zoning decisions closely followed recommendations from the Salisbury Planning Board.

Councilman Bill Burgin credited the planners for being “pretty much on target.” He said mini-warehouses should not be a problem for neighbors, and he noted that the path for the Duke transmission lines offer an additional buffer between the commercial development and residences.

Mayor Pro Tem Paul Woodson said his biggest concern with the original request had been the possibility of a car lot.

Councilman William “Pete” Kennedy said it made more sense to have a landscaping buffer along Bringle Ferry Road, not I-85 where cars are passing by at 65 and 70 mph.

The Planning Board’s recommendation had included a 10-foot-wide landscaping strip along the interstate, but not Bringle Ferry Road. Burgin agreed with Kennedy and said he would rather have the wider landscape buffer along Bringle Ferry Road.

Kennedy ended up voting against the rezoning, saying it was inconsistent with the city’s strategic growth plan and Salisbury Vision 2020.

A couple of residential neighbors also spoke at a public hearing against the rezoning.

Barbara M. Sifford of Bringle Ferry Road said a business development in that location would hurt a neighborhood that is stronger now than it has been in the past.

Johnnie Heggins, who lives in the house closest to Wilson’s properties, said, “I don’t want it up against me.”

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com.